According to trade sources, sugar exports have become viable now as global prices have increased by about 50 per cent in the last three months due to disruption in supply from Brazil.

However, exports would become unviable if customs duty is slapped on sugar shipments.

The government has pegged sugar production at 23-24 MT for 2016-17 marketing year. However, the total availability would be 30-31 MT on the back of opening stocks of over 7 MT.

“… notwithstanding any shortfall in sugar production during 2016-17 sugar season (estimated 23-24 million tonnes), the total availability in India (30-31 MT) would be sufficient to meet the domestic consumption. There is, therefore, likely to be no shortage of domestically produced sugar in India,” the Food Ministry had said in late April.

With retail prices crossing the Rs 40 per kg mark, the government has imposed stock holding limit on traders and withdrawn export-linked production subsidy to control prices.